A new variant of coronavirus has been detected in Israel
A new variant of coronavirus, which is said to be a combination of Omicron sub variants BA.1 and BA.2, has been detected in two passengers at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.
"This variant is still unknown around the world," Israel's ministry of health has said in a statement. "At this stage, we are not worried about it leading to serious cases," said Israel's Covid response head Salman Zarka.
More than four million people out of Israel's population of 9.2 million have received three coronavirus vaccine shots. A total of almost 1.4 million cases of Covid infection, including 8,244 deaths, have been officially recorded in the country.
Last month, Israel announced that unvaccinated tourists would be allowed to enter as part of an easing of covid restrictions.
The country was seeing a "consistent decline in morbidity data," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
A previous effort to reopen the border last November foundered after just a few weeks because of the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Israel was one of the first countries to launch a national vaccination campaign in December 2020.
Where was this new coronavirus variant detected?
This new coronavirus variant was found in two passengers who had arrived at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. The virus was detected through RT PCR tests.
Is this the first variant of its kind?
No. Combined variants have already been found. The Deltacron variant, a combination of Omicron and Delta, has already been detected in parts of Europe. The WHO has recently warned against the new variant.
Much before Deltacron was detected, a variant named Florona was detected in Israel. In January 2022, Israel had recorded the first case of florona which is said to be a double infection of COVID and flu.
What are the symptoms of the new variant?
On the symptoms seen after infection from the new variant of coronavirus, the Israel Health Ministry has said that the symptoms observed till now are mild- fever, headaches and muscle dystrophy.
The two cases of the new strain have not required any special medical response, the ministry has said.
Meanwhile, the common symptoms associated with COVID infection are runny nose, scratchy throat, mild fever, fatigue and few other common cold related symptoms. Omicron variant which is dominant right now, leads to sore throat and runny nose in infected people.
Is this new variant severe or milder?
Since it is said to be a combination of two sub variants of the milder Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, and due to the reason that symptoms have not required any medical response it can be expected that this is a milder version of the coronavirus. However, detailed research on this variant is yet to be done.
The Omicron variant, which is prevalent now, is the milder variant of coronavirus. However, despite being milder it has been listed under variants of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
What is WHO's response on the new variant?
WHO has been actively warning people against lowering guards. The WHO has not ruled out the possibility of emergence of newer variants, severe or milder. Recently the WHO had said that a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants, dubbed 'Deltacron' - has been found circulating in parts of Europe.
On this new variant found in Israel, the WHO is yet to give a statement.